The Texas Mexican Railway

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say, right here in Webb County. Now settle in, because this one starts with a dream, takes a few detours, and ends up changing the whole map of South Texas. Back in the 1850s, the leading merchants of Corpus Christi started cookin' up a plan.

They called it the Corpus Christi and Rio Grande Railroad, and the idea was to make the south Gulf Coast the beating heart of commerce in the region. Bold vision. One problem: the money wasn't there, and an economic slump sat on that dream like a stone.

It didn't move. Not for years. Then came 1875, and a man named Uriah Lott stepped in as president of the railroad.

Now here's where the story picks up speed. Lott went out and recruited some heavy names to back the construction of a narrow gauge rail line running from Corpus Christi all the way to San Diego. We're talking Richard King and Robert Kleberg.

With investors like that behind you, things start to happen. And they did. But the valley market was rich enough that other rail companies were circling, vying for control of that lucrative territory.

So Lott made a move. He engineered the sale of the Corpus Christi and Rio Grande Railroad to a syndicate in the 1880s. The new owners came away with a charter and a new name: the Texas-Mexican Railway Company.

And right about then, Laredo caught fire. In that same decade, the 1880s, Laredo emerged as a major rail trading center, and its population tripled. Tripled.

That is not a small thing. Now you might think a railroad built in that era would eventually fade into history, but the Texas Mexican Railway had other ideas. It kept adapting.

By 1902, it had converted to standard gauge track. In 1939, it switched its locomotives to diesel electric. In the 1950s, it was placing trailers on flatcars.

And in 1996, it expanded operations all the way into Houston and Beaumont. Started as a dream on the Gulf Coast in the 1850s, and it was still growin' into the next century. Some railroads rust.

This one just kept rollin'.

What the marker says

Leading merchants in Corpus Christi began planning the Corpus Christi and Rio Grande Railroad in the 1850s to boost the south Gulf Coast as a center for commerce. Lack of funding and an economic slump prevented progress until 1875 when Uriah Lott became president of the railroad. Lott recruited major investors such as Richard King and Robert Kleberg to finance the construction of a narrow gauge rail line from Corpus Christi to San Diego. The lucrative valley market was sought by other rail companies who were vying for its control. Lott engineered the sale of the Corpus Christi and Rio Grande Railroad to a syndicate in the 1880s. The new owners were granted a charter with the name of the Texas-Mexican Railway Company. Laredo emerged as a major rail trading center and its population tripled in the 1880s. Over time the Texas Mexican Railway remained competitive by upgrading its system. Improvements included converting to standard gauge track by 1902, switching its locomotives to diesel electric in 1939, placing trailer on flatcars in the 1950s, and expanding operations into Houston and Beaumont in 1996. (1997)